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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246896">Take back my life (Prove I'm alright)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/myonetruelove/pseuds/Sparklyfairymira'>Sparklyfairymira (myonetruelove)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The 100 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Confessions, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Married Life, Not a Happy Ending but a Hopeful Ending, Tension, mentions of overdose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:36:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,228</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246896</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/myonetruelove/pseuds/Sparklyfairymira</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harper and Monty have been married for ten years and she is beginning to notice the cracks in their marriage.  Will a road trip for a job interview be able to save their marriage?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, John Murphy/Raven Reyes, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Monty Green/Harper McIntyre, Monty Green/Nathan Miller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Chopped Madness</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Take back my life (Prove I'm alright)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For Round 1 of Chopped Madness. For this round we were given the following:<br/>*Character: Harper McIntyre<br/>*Theme: Angst<br/>*Trope 1: Strangers to Lovers<br/>*Trope 2: Road Trip AU</p><p>This one hurt to write. I got very into the angst theme. The idea came to me quickly and I think that it came out the way that I wanted. </p><p>Title is from Fight Song by Rachel Platten.</p><p>Make sure to vote in Round 1 of the challenge!</p><p> https://chopped100challenge.tumblr.com/post/613349717534982144/round-one-its-time-to-vote-hey-guys-its </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p> </p><p>Harper McIntyre's life had not gone the route that she'd thought it would. From a young age, she'd wanted to be a soldier just like her father. He was killed in action when she a freshman in high school and still she was not deterred. She knew that joining up would be something that her father would be proud of. She joined her high school's JROTC and volunteered at the local VA hospital.</p><p> </p><p>What did deter her was when she found out she was pregnant during her senior year. She and Monty had been dating since middle school and he had been her rock when her dad had died. Harper already knew that she would marry Monty one day, but a baby while they were in high school, had not been a part of the plan.</p><p> </p><p>Monty had been supportive, telling her that he would be behind her 100% with whatever decision she made because it was her body and her life that would be changed (not that his wouldn’t, but Monty was always the guy that put others needs before his own). Harper knew that there was no way that she couldn't have their baby and with the support of their families they worked out a plan, a plan that did not include her joining the military. Jordan Jasper Green, named after their best friend that had tragically died from an overdose the previous year, was born two weeks before graduation, allowing Harper to walk in their graduation ceremony. </p><p> </p><p>Harper and Monty married one week after graduation when Harper turned 18. They attended a local university, Monty having to give up on his dream of MIT. It might not have been what they dreamed of, but it was their life and they were happy to be living it. </p><p> </p><p>Monty chose to follow in his parent's footsteps and become an Agricultural Engineer. His familial connections were how he was able to get a job in his field with little effort. Harper chose to go to school to become a physical therapist with the goal of working with veterans. Her father's best friend, Marcus Kane, was able to help her secure a job at the VA hospital she had volunteered at during high school.</p><p> </p><p>The week before their ten-year anniversary Harper received a phone call from Marcus, now General Kane. There was an opening at the big VA hospital in Arkadia, a city that her dad had raved about. It had been his favorite place that he’d ever been stationed and Harper had always meant to at the very least visit, but it had just continued to be put off. She’d thought that it would’ve been easy to convince Monty that they needed a short break, but the conversation had not gone the way that she had anticipated.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Monty didn’t look up from the gardening he was doing in the backyard. “Why would we go there when we both have jobs here and our parents are here? Do you know how expensive child care is?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just because we go check out the town doesn’t mean I have to take the job, Monty.” Harper threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. “We could use the time to get away from everything. I’ve always wanted to see Arkadia and you know your parents and my mom would love to keep Jordan for us so that we could go.”</p><p> </p><p>“I just don’t know why we should spend our vacation time to go to some random city and leave Jordan behind.” Monty finally looked up at her and Harper realized that he really didn’t understand.</p><p> </p><p>“Monty, Arkadia was my dad’s favorite place.” She shook her head as she looked out towards the woods that bordered their yard. “I’ve never been and I just want to see it and see why he loved it so much.” She paused, taking a deep breath before meeting his eyes. “I want to go and I don’t think that I’m asking too much. I want you to come with me, but I’ll go by myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper held her breath as she continued to stare at him, watching as he considered her words. It had been years since they’d been on the same page so she couldn’t even begin to know what he was thinking. But she wanted this and she was going to go, he wouldn’t stop her.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine,” Monty sighed before going back to the plants in his hands. “I’ll call work when I’m done with this and I guess we’re going on a road trip.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper squealed, clapping her hands. “A week alone in my dad’s favorite town. What a way to spend our anniversary!”</p><p> </p><p>Monty’s head shot up, eyes wide. “Uhhh...anniversary?” She could almost see the wheels turning in his head. “It’s been ten years, huh? I’m sorry, Harp. I don’t know where my head was. Of course, we can spend the week away.” He gave her a timid smile. “I should probably finish this up.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper nodded, feeling her heart drop into her stomach. When they had first started dating it had been Monty who had remembered their anniversary, celebrating every month until they hit their one-year anniversary. And then he’d still insisted that they celebrate at the six month AND year anniversaries. She wasn’t 100% sure when that had changed, but she knew that it had been a long while. She turned back to the house, her excitement now muted. Maybe this trip would be just what they needed to reconnect.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The trip from Polis to Arkadia was about ten hours so Harper and Monty had left Jordan with his grandparents the night before and set out before the sun was even up on Saturday morning. Monty began the drive, being more of a morning person than Harper. Harper drank her coffee and stared out the window. Monty, having known Harper for so long, knew better than to force her into a conversation before her coffee had kicked in so they drove in silence with NPR playing softly in the background.</p><p> </p><p>Shortly after the sun began to rise over the horizon Harper synced her phone with the car, heading bobbing along to Lady Gaga as her voice filled the car. </p><p> </p><p>Monty sighed, glancing at her for a moment before turning his attention back on the road. “Seriously, Harper? I was listening to that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it was putting me to sleep.” Harper kept her eyes on him, eyebrows raised. </p><p> </p><p>“You could’ve at least warned me that you were going to change it. I could’ve gotten ready for Lady Gaga.” Monty tried to force a smile, but it looked more like a grimace.</p><p> </p><p>“You know what? Fine.” Harper powered her phone down, throwing it into the backseat and turning NPR back on. She crossed her arms, glaring out the window. She knew she was overreacting, but it just seemed like the two of them could not get on the same page anymore. It was like everything she did annoyed him and everything that he did just pissed her off. She didn’t understand how their relationship had gotten to this point and she didn’t know how to fix it. So instead, she overreacted. She got angry and pouted. Instead of talking about it, she ignored him. She knew that it wasn’t the way to handle it, but couldn’t seem to stop herself.</p><p> </p><p>She and Monty had essentially become strangers in their own marriage.  They had once been so close and now she didn't even know how to deal with him, let alone talk about the things that were bothering her. How was it possible to feel like a stranger in her marriage of 10 years </p><p> </p><p>Maybe she was waiting for him to fight for her, to care enough to make her talk. Honestly, she didn’t know what she was waiting for. She just knew that her marriage was in trouble and she didn’t know how to fix it.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously Harper? Even Jordan doesn’t act like that.” Monty reached over and snapped the radio off and Harper could tell that he was mad, but he didn’t say anything. He just continued to drive down the highway, silent. </p><p> </p><p>Harper bit her lip, fighting back tears. They’d made it what? An hour into their road trip and they were both already pissed off and annoyed. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Maybe she should’ve told Marcus that she wasn’t interested. Maybe she should’ve come on this trip alone. But it was too late now and she really did want them to enjoy this time away, but she was at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to say to make this better - to make <em> them </em> better. </p><p> </p><p>For the next two hours, they rode in silence, neither of them saying a word. Harper pointedly kept her gaze out her window as she tried to figure out a way to save this trip, a way to save <em> them </em>. Had she been paying more attention to the road maybe she would’ve seen it, but as it were she missed seeing the fox dart across the street. She missed the fact that Monty was looking at her instead of the road. She missed it all until there was a thump as they ran over something causing her to scream and Monty to cuss, something that he so rarely did.</p><p> </p><p>The car spun as Monty fought to control it and there was another thump before Monty was able to pull over on the side of the road. They both climbed out of the car after Monty turned it off, Monty going to check on what they had run over (the fox who apparently was already dead by the time he got there) while Harper walked around the car only to find out that one of their front tires was flat. </p><p> </p><p>The sound of tires on rocks caused her head to shoot up and Monty walked back over to her as they watched two cars pull up behind them. The passenger window of the first car rolled down and a blonde head stuck out. “Hey, we saw what happened. We wanted to stop and make sure that you were okay.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty nodded. “We’re fine. Thanks.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper rolled her eyes. “We’re as fine as we can be with a flat tire and who knows what other damage from running over a fox.”</p><p> </p><p>The blonde nodded. “I’m going to get out. I promise I’m not a serial killer.” She shot them a smile before popping back in and opening her door.</p><p> </p><p>“Clarke, seriously?” The man in the driver’s seat tried to grab the blonde’s arm, but she pulled out of his grasp and slammed the door shut. She walked towards the second car, leaning into the passenger’s side window, talking to someone in the car.</p><p> </p><p>A moment later she returned with a beautiful brunette with a brace on her left leg. The blonde held her hand out as she approached. “I’m Clarke and this is Raven. She’s a mechanic. I figured she could check out the car.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper stepped around Monty to take Clarke’s hand and then Raven’s. “I’m Harper, this is my husband Monty.”</p><p> </p><p>Raven nodded to Monty before stepping towards their car. “Do you guys have a spare, because this tire is done for.” She glanced back up at them before laughing. “You don’t know if you have a spare, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>Monty shook his head. “Honestly, we don’t go on road trips and we have roadside assistance, so I’ve never looked?”</p><p> </p><p>Raven nodded before heading to the driver’s side and climbing inside. She must have tried to turn the car back on, but the noises that came from the car made even Harper flinch. That was not what a car was supposed to sound like. “Yeah, you’re not going to be driving that anytime soon. I don’t need to look under the hood to be able to tell you that. Best bet will be to call your roadside assistance and have them tow you to the closest town.”</p><p> </p><p>“Raven you know the closest town is two hours away, right?” A male voice called out behind them and as Harper turned around she realized that it was the driver from the first car. “Hi.” He shot her a smile and Harper felt herself melt, he was gorgeous. Dark curls, freckles, and arms for days. Damn. “I’m Bellamy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Harper.” She hoped that her voice didn’t sound as breathy to the others as it did to her. They were all unfairly attractive. She knew that there were more people in the cars and it made her wonder if they were all as hot as the three that stood around her.</p><p> </p><p>Clarke grinned at her before leaning close. “He has that effect on people, don’t worry. I’m used to it. He’s my husband.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper felt her face redden, looking around to see if anyone else noticed, but it didn’t seem like they had. “Sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no. It’s fine. I understand completely.” Clarke grinned at her and Harper believed her. “So where were you guys headed?”</p><p> </p><p>“Arkadia.” Harper threw her head back. “I’ve gotta call Marcus and tell him we’re going to be late. I’m supposed to have my interview tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?” Clarke laughed as she looked at Bellamy. “Funnily enough that’s where we’re heading. Murphy,” she gestured to the second car, “had to pick up his new car and he somehow convinced us all to make a road trip out of it. So we drove down to Polis last night and we’re heading back today.” She paused again. “Your Marcus wouldn’t be Marcus Kane would it?”</p><p> </p><p>Harper’s eyes widened as she looked to Clarke. “Ummm, yeah. How did you know that?”</p><p> </p><p>This time Bellamy laughed. “He’s my boss and Clarke’s stepfather. We know him <em> very </em>well.”</p><p> </p><p>“What a small world.” Monty gave them a small smile before meeting her eyes. </p><p> </p><p>Harper was sure that he was trying to tell her something, but she had no idea what the hell it was. And honestly? She really didn’t care. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s the story, Blake?” Another man climbed out of the back seat of the first car. He was also unfairly attractive. He was dark-skinned, hair cut close and bearded. His arms looked like they were about to burst out of his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>Harper’s eyes shot to Monty, wondering if he was wondering how a group of people could be so attractive and what she saw surprised her. Monty’s eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape and there was a blush climbing up from his neck as he watched the new man. Well, that was...<em> interesting? </em> A part of her knew that she should be more concerned, maybe even hurt by his reaction. But instead, she felt...indifferent. And that upset her more than anything else. How could she feel indifferent towards her husband? She knew that they had been growing apart, but this felt different. How long had she been feeling this way without realizing it?</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” Clarke’s voice was quiet as she touched Harper’s arm lightly. </p><p> </p><p>Harper’s head snapped to meet Clarke’s gaze as she tried to school her face. “Um, yeah. I don’t know what came over me. I was just feeling a little out of it. Ir’s probably just stress.”</p><p> </p><p>Clarke looked like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself. “Okay, as long as you’re sure.” She looked around the group that had formed. The guy from the second car had joined them, arm wrapped around Raven. Clarke pointed at him. “That’s Murphy and the guy with Bellamy is Miller. They’re all in the Army with Marcus.”</p><p> </p><p>Miller stepped forward, shaking first her hand and then Monty’s. And Harper might have been imagining it, but she swore that their handshake lasted longer than it needed to. Harper sighed, telling herself that she was being paranoid. Murphy just nodded towards them and Harper waved in return.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s going to take a tow truck hours to get out here.” Bellamy ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the pair of them. “Why don’t you guys call the roadside assistance and they can tow it to the closest mechanic. We’ll take you to Arkadia, it’s not like we’re not already heading there.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you can call Marcus so you can verify that we’re not a bunch of psychopaths,” Clarke cut in before either of them could say anything. “And then one of us will drive you back to get your car when your trip is done.”</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t ask you to do that.” Harper shook her head. They had just met them and that was too much to ask of a virtual stranger.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t ask, we offered.” Bellamy smiled again. “And trust me, Clarke is <em> not </em> going to take no for an answer. So why don’t you make those phone calls and we’ll put all the luggage in Murphy’s trunk. You’ll have to ride with us. There is no backseat to Murphy’s car. It’ll be a little tight, but I promise it’s not bad. We all rode down to Polis in my car so there’s enough room, I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper glanced at Monty only to see that his eyes were still on Miller. She cleared her throat, but he didn’t notice. “That sounds great, doesn’t it Monty?” Harper’s words were sharper than she had meant them to be, but seriously? She didn’t care if he found Miller attractive. She’d told Monty that she was bi during their freshman year and he’d been super accepting of that fact but had told her that he was as straight as they came. And that obviously was <em> not </em> the case, which was fine. But being so blatant about it while she was standing <em> right </em> there and they were surrounded by strangers. God, what did they think about their relationship? Harper felt herself flush just imagining the terrible thoughts that they could be having about them.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh yeah.” Monty at least had the grace to look guilty as he sheepishly met her eyes. “I’ll call the roadside assistance while you call Marcus?”</p><p> </p><p>Harper nodded before pulling out her phone and doing just that. Marcus did confirm that Clarke was his stepdaughter and he was glad that they had happened along them at a convenient time. He told her that they could rearrange the interview for Monday afternoon which would cut into the sightseeing they had planned, but she knew they could work around that. Monty was still on the line with the roadside assistance so she headed back over to where Bellamy and Clarke were leaning against their car talking. “Thanks again for driving us to Arkadia. It’s just my luck that the one time I can finally convince Monty to leave Jordan and work for a week our car gets totally messed up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jordan?” Clarke asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Our son.” Harper smiled. “He turned ten a few weeks ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ten? What did you do? Have him when you were 12?” Murphy’s eyes were wide as he walked up and he doubled over when Raven elbowed him.</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t say shit like that Murphy.” Raven rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry about him. He has no filter.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper gave them a small smile. “I was actually 17 when I had him. Senior in high school. We got married right after we graduated.”</p><p> </p><p>“So high school sweethearts?” Miller’s voice was quiet as he glanced between her and Monty. And Harper was sure she wasn’t imagining the disappointment in both his eyes and his voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Middle school actually.” Harper shrugged. “We’ve been together forever.” And Harper couldn’t help but wonder <em> why </em> they’d been together forever. Obviously, she didn’t voice this aloud, but all she could think about was why they were still together. Was it because of Jordan? Was it because they were comfortable? She knew she loved Monty, but was she <em> in </em> love with him? Was he in love with her? She turned to look at him and she couldn’t answer either of those questions and that scared her.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s sweet.” Clarke looked at Bellamy. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, but we didn’t get together until a few years ago. We were idiots.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, God were they ever.” Raven shook her head. “We were considering just killing them to put us out of our misery.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, they gave me the name of the shop where they’re going to tow the car.” Monty stepped back up to the group. “It’s apparently on the way to Arkadia and they just asked that we drop the keys off there if you don’t mind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not!” Bellamy nodded towards their car. “Do you want to grab your stuff and we’ll stick what we can in Murphy’s car and the rest can go in ours.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper watched as Miller, Bellamy, and Monty went and grabbed their stuff, distributing it between the two cars. Once everything was situated Harper looked at Miller and Monty, shrugging. “I can sit in the middle.”</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Monty spoke quickly and a little too loud. “I mean, I’ll sit in the middle. You always do better by a window.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah, but I don’t want you to have to be stuck in the middle.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, it’s not like I’m a big guy or anything.” Monty’s eyes shifted to Miller for just a moment and Harper knew the real reason he wanted to sit in the middle. Her husband wanted to sit next to a man that he found attractive. And again the only reason she was upset was that she was worried about what the others might think. She’d never cared about what others thought about her, but she cared about what <em> these </em> people thought of her and her marriage. Why was that her only response to this situation?</p><p> </p><p>Harper straightened her shoulders, heading to the far side of the car before climbing in. She and Monty were going to have to have a serious conversation when they got to Arkadia. They needed to get on the same page, figure out what was best for them and their family. Because the way that she was feeling was not normal and she didn’t even know how Monty was feeling. Just a few hours of overthinking before they got to Arkadia. It was fine, she had this.</p><p> </p><p>The town where the mechanic was located was an almost two-hour drive, but Sanctum was a cute, quaint town. They decided to stop to grab something to eat at a diner and Harper had to admit that she was really enjoying herself. She could see being friends with this group of people. Maybe Arkadia didn’t have to be a pipedream. Maybe this could be their actual life.</p><p> </p><p>Harper looked across the table, wanting to see how Monty was doing and maybe get some idea of what he was thinking. What she found was Monty leaning close to Miller as they had a hushed conversation. The attraction was obvious. She remembered seeing that look on Monty’s face when he looked at her. When had that stopped? She glanced at Bellamy and Clarke before turning to look at Raven and Murphy. Both couples were so obviously in love and she couldn’t remember the last time that she and Monty had looked at each other that way. When had that stopped? When had they fallen apart?</p><p> </p><p>A giant crash of thunder broke her from her thoughts as everyone at the table jumped. She looked out the window to see a torrent of rain falling from the sky. “Shit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, no kidding.” Clarke pushed her phone at Bellamy. “It looks like the weather is just going to get worse. There are tornado warnings all along the highway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe we should see if they’ve got a hotel with some rooms?” Bellamy was apologetic as he met her eyes. “I’m sorry, I know your interview was supposed to be tonight. We can call Marcus. I’m sure he can rearrange it.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper nodded, knowing that he was right. If there were tornado warnings, not to mention the rain and wind she could see from where she sat, then they should stay put and head out tomorrow. “No, that’s fine. He actually rescheduled it for Monday. Plus our safety is priority number one.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Harper found herself once again calling Marcus to let him know that we wouldn’t be making it that night while Bellamy and Miller went in search of a place for them to stay. Within the hour they had found rooms at the town’s small hotel, run to the grocery store for snacks, and were hanging out together in one of the rooms. Once again Harper was overwhelmed by the feeling of belonging. These could be her people and she <em> wanted </em>them to be her people.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at Monty and this time his eyes were on her. She gave him a small smile even as she realized that now was the time. She couldn’t put off this conversation any longer. Now how to get him away from the rest of the group?</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to need alcohol. Large amounts of alcohol.” Murphy was already standing as he looked around. “Let’s go hit the liquor store. Then we can play drinking games or something. Since there’s nothing else to do in this backwater town.”</p><p>
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</p><p>And there was her opportunity. “Actually Monty and I should head back to our room for a bit. We need to Facetime with Jordan, let him know that we’re okay and what’s going on.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty stood slowly, eyes sliding to where Miller had stood to join Murphy. “Yeah, we should do that.”</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later they were safely in the room, listening to Jordan recount his morning with Monty’s parents, who told them to be careful and to call them when they make it to Arkadia. The call didn’t last long and when Harper ended the call she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Before we go back we need to talk.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty, who had been going through his bag looking for something, turned his head to look at her. “About what?”</p><p> </p><p>“About a lot of things.” She gave a sad laugh. “When did you realize that you were into guys?”</p><p> </p><p>“What? I’m not - I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Monty stuttered over his words even as he flushed.</p><p> </p><p>“Monty, I’m not mad. I think we need to talk about this. It’s important. I see the way that you look at Miller. You like him.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty sat next to her on the bed. “I’m sorry, Harp. I’d hoped that you wouldn’t notice that. I don’t know what came over me, I’m sorry if that hurt you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m pretty sure that <em> everyone </em> noticed.” Harper bit her lip. “Is he the first?”</p><p> </p><p>Monty shook his head. “No. I’ve known for a while that I was attracted to men, too.” His eyes shot up to meet hers. “But I’ve never acted on it. I would never hurt you like that. I love you too much for that.”</p><p> </p><p>Harper nodded slowly. “And that’s the other thing we need to talk about. I love you too. But I’m not in love with you anymore. I don’t know when that stopped, but I can tell you that it’s not recent. And I think that you might feel the same way.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Monty stood up suddenly. “Of course I’m in love with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Monty, we need to be honest with one another. We’ve always been honest with one another, let’s not change that now.”</p><p> </p><p>They were both quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Monty was the first to speak, quietly. “I think you’re right.” He walked across the small room before sitting down heavily. “I’m not <em> unhappy </em> per se, but I’m not happy. It’s not supposed to be like this, is it?”</p><p> </p><p>Harper shook her head. “No, it’s not. Just look at your parents. They’re still happy and in love after over thirty years. We’re not. We’re comfortable and just going through the motions. This isn’t what I want for us. I want more for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what? Do we go to couple’s counseling? How do we fix this?”</p><p> </p><p>Harper looked down at her hands as she shook her head. “I’m not sure that we <em> can </em>fix this. Or that we should.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what are you saying, Harper?”</p><p> </p><p>Harper’s eyes were filled with tears and her heart heavy as she looked up to meet Monty’s eyes again. “I think the only way that we won’t end up hating or resenting one another is to end this now.” She held her hand up when Monty opened his mouth to speak. “Let me finish, please. I love you and I’ll always love you. But it’s not just us that we have to think about, we have to think about Jordan. Do we want to raise him in a house where his parents hate one another? Resent one another? That wouldn’t be a good situation for any of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty nodded slowly. “I know that you’re right, but I don’t even know what my life would look like without you in it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll always be in your life Monty.” Harper reached out to squeeze his hand. “We will <em> always </em>be a family. We just won’t be married anymore.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “And assuming that the interview goes well, I’m going to take the job in Arkadia. Jordan and I will be moving to Arkadia and I hope that you’ll come with us.”</p><p> </p><p>Monty’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he looked like he wanted to argue, but then he just nodded. “I’m sorry I ever made you feel like what you wanted didn’t matter. Of course, we’ll move to Arkadia and we’ll find a way to make all of this work. You deserve the world Harper and I’m sorry that I couldn’t give it to you.”</p><p> </p><p>“But you did give it to me. You gave me Jordan and he is my whole world.” Harper took a deep breath. “I think that i”m going to go get another room.” She pulled Monty in for a hug. “I do love you Monty and I think that this will be better for all of us in the long run. And Monty?”</p><p> </p><p>Monty met her eyes. “Yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>“You and Miller are cute. I think you should go for it. Hey, who knows? Maybe you're meant to be..” She gave him a smile and for the first time in a long time, it felt genuine.</p><p> </p><p>Harper stood slowly and headed for the door. She felt lighter than she had all day. This just felt right. Her heart was a little bruised, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. She knew that she and Monty could figure this out, they’d find a way to still be there for one another. She smiled at the thought. </p><p> </p><p>She knew that although she had felt like she and Monty were strangers when they'd started the day now she knew better. They still loved one another and they would still be a family. They wouldn't be a typical family, but they would be happy. The best part was that she knew they would stay close friends. They would never have to  strangers again, that their love as friends would help them grow together. Everything was going to be okay.</p><p>
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